Page 108 - THE SLOUGHI REVIEW - ISSUE 13

T H E S L O U G H I R E V I E W 1 0 8

Here again it is interesting to see that man and dog work together and that the hunted
game can offer some resistance. Thus the forces of nature are balanced, the hunter with
his fellow hunters and the hunted are subjected to the external conditions and all have
their chance. This chance for the hunted decreases considerably when the hunter uses a
precise, large-calibre rifle with a telescope. But is this still a hunt, an Agon, a contest?

Hunting mouflon and ostrich with dog. O. Aguennar-(Ahaggar).
Made by the author. Lhote, in La Chasse p.228

Henri Lhote continues:

“Most engravings or cave paintings show three dogs in action, which is the normal number

of a pack.

If there are three dogs, the mouflon says: It is a small danger; if there are four dogs, the
mouflon says: The danger is not very great; if there are five dogs, the mouflon says: The
danger is not terrible; if there are six dogs, the mouflon says: Watch out, there is danger; if

there are seven dogs, the mouflon says: This is a leash and a fetter for me (in other words: I
am caught). This is how the mouflon would speak in its innermost being, as told by the
Tuareg, and it would defend its life accordingly.

The Tuareg in the Ahaggar Mountains use a heavy spear with a wooden shaft and a metal
tip in the shape of a laurel leaf called an agdel for hunting mouflon, which they use
masterfully.